Motivation:

Life sciences will dominate the 21st century: As soon as we understand the
complex functional network of the cell we can develop cures for most
diseases. Nanomachines will have a strong impact on the industry of the
future. We are still far from a complete understanding of this network,
but bioinformatics is undoubtedly the key technology to get there.
Bioinformatics played an integral role in one of mankind's most notable
advances - the complete sequencing of the human genome. However, despite
this scientific quantum leap rendered possible by bioinformatics, we are
just at the beginning of deciphering life as the genomic sequence alone
tells us nothing about structure or function of the encoded proteins.
Moreover the interpretation of the genetic code depends on the state of
the cell as the approximately 30,000 genes of the human genome account for
about 300,000 different proteins. The mechanisms that control gene
activation, its scale and timing in order for the appropriate proteins to
be synthesized are not yet well understood.

One of the primary tasks in bioinformatics is to help analyze genomic
data.Bioinformatics approaches are also needed to interpret, analyse,
compare, manage and simulate data collected by molecular biological
measurement techniques such as x-ray crystallography, magnetic resonance
spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, atomic force spectroscopy, fluorescence
spectroscopy, as well as microarray and protein array techniques. One of
the long-term objectives in bioinformatics is to replace molecular
biological experiments by simulations and predictions made in silico as
this would mean immense cost savings and accelerate the development of
novel nanotechnologies and drugs.

No prior biological knowledge is necessary for this course. It starts off
with an introduction to bioinformatics methods, covers the basics of
molecular cell biology and then proceeds to important molecular biological
data bases and algorithms. The ideas and concepts behind algorithms are
explained and results mathematically interpreted.